Robinhood Stock in Focus Thursday: What's Going On?

Shares of Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) are seeing increased attention on Thursday after the company’s October operating data showed a surge in prediction-market activity alongside a steep drop in crypto trading.

Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) also named Robinhood’s head of investor relations as its next CFO.

• Robinhood Markets shares are sliding. What’s pressuring HOOD stock?

Robinhood’s October Metrics: Prediction Markets Soar, Crypto Slumps

According to Robinhood’s Nov. 11 investor presentation, about 5.9 billion event contracts were traded in October, up 136% from a year earlier and 5% from September. The business is now meaningful for Robinhood, generating more than $100 million in annualized revenue as of the third quarter.

Crypto went the other way. Notional crypto volume fell to about $17 billion, down 21% from September and 48% from a year ago. Robinhood app volume dropped 51% year-over-year to about $7 billion, and Bitstamp volume fell 45% to about $10 billion.

The weakness follows a 55% year-over-year drop in third-quarter crypto revenue, and persistent weakness could weigh on fourth-quarter transaction revenue. Event contract volume doesn’t translate directly into revenue, so the growth in prediction markets may not fully offset the loss.

The core business held up. Equity notional volume reached about $325 billion, up 2% from a year ago. Options contracts traded rose 8% to about 289 million, and margin balances climbed 39% to about $23 billion. Net deposits were about $15 billion in October, bringing the 2026 total to about $70 billion year-to-date.

Klarna Names Robinhood’s Chris Koegel as CFO

Separately, Klarna appointed Chris Koegel as chief financial officer, effective Jan. 1, 2027, subject to regulatory approval. He will succeed Niclas Neglén, who stays on through the end of 2026.

Koegel is Robinhood’s vice president and head of corporate finance and investor relations, a role he has held since joining in 2022. Robinhood’s valuation grew from less than $10 billion to more than $100 billion during that time. He previously led investor relations at LPL Financial Holdings and spent 13 years at Bain & Company.

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski pointed to Koegel’s experience at a US-listed consumer fintech with a "strong track record of growth and shareholder value creation." Neither company said when Koegel will leave Robinhood.

HOOD Shares in Focus

HOOD Price Action: Robinhood shares were down 1.37% at $83.39 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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